A number of albums featured on Folk Radio UK have made it into the longlist for The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award which promote and reward the most outstanding albums released by Scottish artists between January and December of the previous calendar year. They are listed below, just click on the album title to read our reviews:
Kid Canaveral – Now That You Are A Dancer
Hardly the most prolific of bands in their seven year existence — they met at St Andrews University in 2005 — what they lack in productivity they more than make up for in quality. Rachel Devine
Hubbert has assembled a beautiful and often melancholic album. It demands to be listened to in its entirety and acts as a perfect denouement to a fascinating series of records. Thomas Blake
Rick Redbeard – No Selfish Heart
This measured approach to songwriting is a departure for Redbeard – aka Rick Anthony – whose day job involves fronting the Phantom Band: a mathy, punchy and omnivorous Glasgow-based collective of art-rockers. But as departures go, this is a welcome one. Acoustic arrangements give a space to the songs that allows themes to develop whilst providing a suitable backdrop for Redbeard’s voice, which is just the right side of gravelly, falling somewhere between a Scottish Bill Calahan and, on ‘A Greater Brave‘, a rural, back porch Richard Hawley. Thomas Blake
And finally one of our Albums of the Month:
Adam Holmes and The Embers – Heirs And Graces
Adam Holmes writes lyrics that appeal and engage. His voice drifts from the speakers to fill a room with apparent ease, establishing an instant connection with his audience. In Heirs And Graces these considerable talents have been pooled along with those of his friends to produce an album who’s release starts 2014 on a very promising note for music lovers. More of the same please! Neil McFadyen
The SAY Shortlist will be announced on Thursday, May 29th with the ten albums going forward to the award ceremony in The Barrowlands on Thursday, June 19th.